TheDudTorpedo
03-12-09, 09:02 PM
Well chaps, I must share my latest GWX experience with you. Both exciting and frustrating at the same time. :DL
It's mid-1943, I'm on my way from St Nazaire to DO74 in the Caribbean, and I'm half-way there. Im cruising the surface in slightly stormy seas and overcast conditions, but good visibility. All of a sudden my radio operator reports "Radar signals". Within 10 minutes, two Avengers dive down and give me a serious strafing - I lose 3 men KIA, but I am able to down one Avenger with some flak before the other heads off. I suspect a carrier is in the vicinity and dive to periscope depth (after burying my 3 lost crew at sea - may they RIP) and set my sonar operator onto the task. He picks up many screws - a mix of warships and merchants, and I think...."My moment of glory has come, I am going to finally sink something larger than 10K".:yeah:
After 3 hours of careful maneouvering, I've come to position directly ahead of the convoy, right in the middle, with a great 90AoB to their direction of travel. Up periscope and...damn...fog and rain has set in and visibility is reduced to 400-500m. Going to have to be highly selective on the targets here - carefully prepare the crew and torpedos for action, and open all the torpedo tube doors - silent running at 1knot. 30 minutes later and out of the fog, to my stern, sails a 7K merchant - shall I take the shot and risk warning the remainder of the convoy? I decide to risk it, and fire off a torpedo - 350m later I get an impact and she sinks. I can't see buggerall with all this fog, my my sonar is going ballistic with all the screws, and then...Wow....the loudest screws I have ever heard. What the heck? A few minutes later, out of the fog just in front of me to starboard steams a Bogue Escort doing 13 knots - she is spooked and steaming full ahead. She is way to close to fire off a torpedo - she is going to pass me withing 100m. I wait till she passes, and then maneover to follow at flank ahead at 7knots. I won't catch her doing 13 knots so decide at a quick shot with the worst AoB ever, to pass under her with a magnetic pistol - I'm not hoping for much. But...damn I get it right, and what's more that single speculative shot sinks her! The crew is estatic! :rock:
My sonar reports 3 destroyers approaching very fast, so I decide to crash dive to 170m. It's all going well, but at 170m I get the telltale signs of trouble, a couple of burst bulbs, some leaking flanges and then all of a sudden my stern section goes red, and the boat crushes and everything is over very, very quickly!!! :wah:
A question : there are many accounts of U-boats sinking because the failed to close their outer tube doors during deep dives - the pressure being far to great for the inner door. During my crash dive to 170m, I failed to close my stern tube doors. So, is this what caused my crushing (in which case that really is some fine modelling), or could it be the earlier damage caused by the earlier Avenger strafing (this damaged seemed minor and was repaired before the encounter with the convoy). Perhaps I under-estimated the hull damage caused by the strafing?
I shall try again tonight from my SaveGame! :arrgh!:
Regards,
Dud
It's mid-1943, I'm on my way from St Nazaire to DO74 in the Caribbean, and I'm half-way there. Im cruising the surface in slightly stormy seas and overcast conditions, but good visibility. All of a sudden my radio operator reports "Radar signals". Within 10 minutes, two Avengers dive down and give me a serious strafing - I lose 3 men KIA, but I am able to down one Avenger with some flak before the other heads off. I suspect a carrier is in the vicinity and dive to periscope depth (after burying my 3 lost crew at sea - may they RIP) and set my sonar operator onto the task. He picks up many screws - a mix of warships and merchants, and I think...."My moment of glory has come, I am going to finally sink something larger than 10K".:yeah:
After 3 hours of careful maneouvering, I've come to position directly ahead of the convoy, right in the middle, with a great 90AoB to their direction of travel. Up periscope and...damn...fog and rain has set in and visibility is reduced to 400-500m. Going to have to be highly selective on the targets here - carefully prepare the crew and torpedos for action, and open all the torpedo tube doors - silent running at 1knot. 30 minutes later and out of the fog, to my stern, sails a 7K merchant - shall I take the shot and risk warning the remainder of the convoy? I decide to risk it, and fire off a torpedo - 350m later I get an impact and she sinks. I can't see buggerall with all this fog, my my sonar is going ballistic with all the screws, and then...Wow....the loudest screws I have ever heard. What the heck? A few minutes later, out of the fog just in front of me to starboard steams a Bogue Escort doing 13 knots - she is spooked and steaming full ahead. She is way to close to fire off a torpedo - she is going to pass me withing 100m. I wait till she passes, and then maneover to follow at flank ahead at 7knots. I won't catch her doing 13 knots so decide at a quick shot with the worst AoB ever, to pass under her with a magnetic pistol - I'm not hoping for much. But...damn I get it right, and what's more that single speculative shot sinks her! The crew is estatic! :rock:
My sonar reports 3 destroyers approaching very fast, so I decide to crash dive to 170m. It's all going well, but at 170m I get the telltale signs of trouble, a couple of burst bulbs, some leaking flanges and then all of a sudden my stern section goes red, and the boat crushes and everything is over very, very quickly!!! :wah:
A question : there are many accounts of U-boats sinking because the failed to close their outer tube doors during deep dives - the pressure being far to great for the inner door. During my crash dive to 170m, I failed to close my stern tube doors. So, is this what caused my crushing (in which case that really is some fine modelling), or could it be the earlier damage caused by the earlier Avenger strafing (this damaged seemed minor and was repaired before the encounter with the convoy). Perhaps I under-estimated the hull damage caused by the strafing?
I shall try again tonight from my SaveGame! :arrgh!:
Regards,
Dud